Human Activities

Even though more humans have been in outer space than to the bottom of the ocean, the deep-seafloor is is still vulnerable to human disturbances. Deepsea oil, gas, and mineral exploration, bottom trawling, and marine debris are just some of the impacts caused by humans to these fragile yet vital ecosystems.

Fishing

Commercial
Map: Trawling and Deep Sea Corals
A map showing landings of fish caught by trawling (a method of commercial fishing) across the Southern California Bight (2007-2011). Locations of known deep-water corals, which are very vulnerable to trawling, are indicated on the map. Data source: CDFW, Perry et al 2010; Map credit: P. Etnoyer/NOAA, Etnoyer et al. 2015.

A map showing landings of fish caught by trawling (a method of commercial fishing) across the Southern California Bight (2007-2011). Locations of known deep-water corals, which are very vulnerable to trawling, are indicated on the map. Data source: CDFW, Perry et al 2010; Map credit: P. Etnoyer/NOAA, Etnoyer et al. 2015.

Click for Details Trawling landings across the Southern California Bight, as illustrated by CDFW 10 square kilometer blocks and shown along with known locations of stony deep-water corals. Trawling is known to disturb bottom habitats and deep-sea corals. Even though trawling effort has decreased in recent years, the impacts of this gear type can be long lived. For more information, consult Figure App.C.3.3 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.
Map: Fixed Gear and Deep Sea Corals
A map showing landings of fish caught by fixed gear (a method of commercial fishing) across the Southern California Bight (2007-2011). Locations of known deep-water gorgonians, which are very vulnerable to trawling, are indicated on the map. Data source: CDFW, Perry et al 2010; Map credit: P. Etnoyer/NOAA, Etnoyer et al. 2015.

A map showing landings of fish caught by fixed gear (a method of commercial fishing) across the Southern California Bight (2007-2011). Locations of known deep-water gorgonians, which are very vulnerable to trawling, are indicated on the map. Data source: CDFW, Perry et al 2010; Map credit: P. Etnoyer/NOAA, Etnoyer et al. 2015.

Click for Details Historical landings of fixed gear that could impact benthic habitats are shown along with the locations of deep-sea gorgonians in the map above. Fixed gear usage is moderate around the Channel Islands and likely impacts gorgonians in CINMS habitats. Data is from 2007 to 2011. For more information, consult Figure App.C.3.4 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.
Map: Trawl & Fixed Gear with MPAs
A map showing the locations of both trawling and fixed gear fishing in relation to protected areas (2007-2011) within the Southern California Bight. Data source: CDFW; Map credit: P. Etnoyer/NOAA

A map showing the locations of both trawling and fixed gear fishing in relation to protected areas (2007-2011) within the Southern California Bight. Data source: CDFW; Map credit: P. Etnoyer/NOAA

Click for Details Overlay of trawl and fixed gear fishing activity from 2007 to 2011 and protected areas is shown in the map above. Much of the landings is off the Santa Barbara mainland coast; however, fixed gear usage regularly occurs in Sanctuary waters. For more information, consult Figure App.C.3.5 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.
Recreational
Fishing activity (number of trip and number of anglers per trip) for Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessels (CPFVs) operating out of ports in Santa Barbara and Ventura from 2000 to 2012. Figure credit: Chen et al. 2015b.

Fishing activity (number of trip and number of anglers per trip) for Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessels (CPFVs) operating out of ports in Santa Barbara and Ventura from 2000 to 2012. Figure credit: Chen et al. 2015b.

A figure of Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel (CPFV) trips and anglers per trip accross years (2000 to 2012). Figure credit: Chen et al. 2015b.

A figure of Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel (CPFV) trips and anglers per trip accross years (2000 to 2012). Figure credit: Chen et al. 2015b.

Click for Details Fishing activity landings for Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessels (CPFVs) operating out of ports in Santa Barbara and Ventura from 2000 to 2012. Activity landings in 2011 and 2012 returned to levels seen in the early 2000s. For more information, consult Figure App.C.4.2b in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.

Research

Human Impacts

Contaminants

Benthic Response Index
Map: 2013 Conditions at sites
A map showing sediment sample locations and their respective Benthic Reponse Index sites from a 2013 Southern California Bight-wide survey. The Benthic Response Index is a measure of the impact of humans on the seafloor. Figure credit: K. Schiff/SCCWRP.

A map showing sediment sample locations and their respective Benthic Reponse Index sites from a 2013 Southern California Bight-wide survey. The Benthic Response Index is a measure of the impact of humans on the seafloor. Figure credit: K. Schiff/SCCWRP.

Click for Details SCCWRP sediment sample locations and their respective Benthic Response Index (BRI) from the 2013 bight-wide survey are shown in the map. In order to create the BRI, infaunal invertebrate communities are characterized based on the proportion of taxa present in a sample that are sensitive to as opposed to tolerant of contaminant levels. Using a composite score of the infauna community, SCCRWP labels sample sites as reference, low impact, moderate impact, or high impact. For more information, consult Figure App.E.11.11 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.
Contaminants in Sediments
Map: 2008 DDT
A map showing DDT contaminant levels in sediments collected across the Southern California Bight in 2008. Figure credit: Schiff et al. 2011.

A map showing DDT contaminant levels in sediments collected across the Southern California Bight in 2008. Figure credit: Schiff et al. 2011.

Click for Details Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) contaminant levels in sediment sampling locations during SCCRWP’s 2008 bight-wide survey are shown in the map. DDT is most prominent around the Ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica Bay. DDT is a legacy contaminant, which means it persists in the environment long after introduction. A large amount of DDT in the bight came from the dumping of the contaminant by the Montrose Chemical Company off Palos Verdes until the early 1980s, which is why the surrounding areas have high DDT levels. CINMS is relatively far from the spill site and thus, has limited DDT concentrations in sediments. For more information, consult Figure App.E.11.12 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.
Map: 2008 Copper
A map showing copper contaminant levels in sediments collected across the Southern California Bight in 2008. Figure credit: Schiff et al. 2011.

A map showing copper contaminant levels in sediments collected across the Southern California Bight in 2008. Figure credit: Schiff et al. 2011.

Click for Details Copper contaminant levels at sediment sampling locations during SCCRWP’s 2008 Bight wide survey are shown in the map. Copper is a heavy metal contaminant that in high concentrations can be toxic to living marine resources. Concentrations in CINMS are consistently low compared with other regions in the southern California Bight. For more information, consult Figure App.E.11.13 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.
Map: 2008 Silver
A map showing silver contaminant levels in sediments collected across the Southern California Bight in 2008. Figure credit: Schiff et al. 2011.

A map showing silver contaminant levels in sediments collected across the Southern California Bight in 2008. Figure credit: Schiff et al. 2011.

Click for Details Silver contaminant levels in sediment sampling locations during SCCRWP’s 2008 bight-wide survey are shown in the map. Silver is a heavy metal contaminant that in high concentrations can be toxic to living marine resources. Concentrations in CINMS and the Santa Barbara Channel are consistently low compared other regions in the Southern California Bight. High concentrations of silver appear to be clustered off the two largest population centers: Los Angeles and San Diego. For more information, consult Figure App.E.11.14 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.
Map: 2008 PBDEs
A map showing the contaminent levels of Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (which are used as flame retardants) in sediments collected across the Southern California Bight in 2008. Figure credit: Schiff et al. 2011.

A map showing the contaminent levels of Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (which are used as flame retardants) in sediments collected across the Southern California Bight in 2008. Figure credit: Schiff et al. 2011.

Click for Details Sediment contaminant levels for Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the Southern California Bight are shown in the map above. These products are typically added to manufactured products as flame retardants. Concentrations of PBDEs are low at the islands compared to mainland areas. For more information, consult Figure App.E.11.15 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.
Map: 2008 Pyrethroids
A map showing pyrethroid (insecticide) contaminant levels in sediments collected across the Southern California Bight in 2008. Figure credit: Schiff et al. 2011.

A map showing pyrethroid (insecticide) contaminant levels in sediments collected across the Southern California Bight in 2008. Figure credit: Schiff et al. 2011.

Click for Details Pyrethroids contaminant levels in sediment sampling locations during SCCRWP’s 2008 bight-wide survey are shown in the map. Pyrethroids are typically pollutants coming from insecticide use. In recent years, there has been no agriculture on the islands and thus, pyrethroids are absent from CINMS sediments. Sediments adjacent to CINMS off Ventura have low levels of pyrethroids likely due to agriculture in that area. For more information, consult Figure App.E.11.16 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.

Noise

Listening Stations
A map showing the location of historic (green dots) and current (yellow dots) passive acoustic monitoring stations around the Sanctuary and Santa Barbara Channel. Map credit: M. Cajandig/NOAA.

A map showing the location of historic (green dots) and current (yellow dots) passive acoustic monitoring stations around the Sanctuary and Santa Barbara Channel. Map credit: M. Cajandig/NOAA.

Click for Details Previous (green dots) and current (yellow dots) passive acoustic monitoring stations in and around CINMS are shown along with several sources of anthropogenic noise: ports and harbors, oil platforms, shipping lanes, and military testing zones. SIO = Scripps Institution of Oceanography; NOAA NRS = Noise Reference Station. For more information, consult Figure App.C.2.8 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.